Who's Your Spotter?

Those of you that have spent any time in the gym probably have someone that came to mind. Now sure, anyone can be a spotter in the gym, and do the bare minimum and make sure you don’t kill yourself when you’re lifting, but that’s not "your" spotter, and there’s a clear difference between "your" spotter and "a" spotter. "Your" spotter knows your limits, knows when to push you, and most importantly, knows when to add just the right amount of help before you crush yourself, while keeping in mind that it’s important that you hit the "breaking point" where you would’ve failed had they not been there to help.

I was thinking recently about different trials in my life, and how they keep pushing me past my "breaking point." I imagine this cliff, and these trials dragging me toward it -- and I realized that not only are they taking me to the edge of the cliff, but they're actually pushing me OFF the edge, past what I can take! And I thought about how unfair that was that God would let that happen to me; wasn’t he supposed to only give me what I could handle? Isn’t there a verse about that or something? Then it hit me. I hadn’t fallen yet. If God had let the trials drag me off the cliff then why am I still standing? And I realized it’s because people in my life had caught me.

If you know me, you know I’m a very visual guy, and instantly I got this image burned into my mind of me falling backwards off of a cliff, but catching the hand of a friend, or family, or something like that -- someone who was there to make sure I didn’t go past my "breaking point." I realize that God knows my literal breaking point, not only what I can take, but even past that to the point where my eyes get wide and I realize I’m ACTUALLY going over, only to barely catch the hand of a spotter in my life. If you’re gonna learn anything or really change yourself, then you HAVE to reach your "breaking point," you HAVE to go over the cliff. My youth pastor drilled that into my head and I'm only now realizing the significance of it. You need to have a spotter in your life -- yes, in the gym, (c’mon, take care of yourself) -- but also in your spiritual life. Anyone reading this is old enough and smart enough to know the difference between a “friend” and a "spotter." And while I don’t discount friends being a part of your life, make sure you've got a spotter. And you know what? Make sure you’re someone’s spotter too. Geez, be everyone’s spotter. It’s not hard to look around and see people falling. Stop being a "friend" and go be a spotter.